14.02.2011

Legislation in Maryland is seeking to ban arsenic compounds from poultry feed.

Delegate Tom Hucker, D-Montgomery, and Sen. Paul Pinsky, D-Prince George's, announced the measure at a news conference with Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler.
Supporters of the bill say arsenic in chicken feed contaminates both chicken meat and chicken waste, which can end up in the Chesapeake Bay. They also say it increases risks of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Arsenic is often added to chicken feed in the form of the compound roxarsone.

On the Delmarva Peninsula (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia) alone, 1,700 chicken operations raise 11 million chickens per week. 
Some growers, including Perdue, have stopped using arsenic. But others fought bills in the General Assembly last year, saying it has been approved by federal regulators.